Colonial Revolutionary Wars
The Colonial Revolutionary Wars were a series of conflicts dated between the years 2210 and 2262 in which numerous human colonies declared independence against the centralised Earth government. To see a more simple display of the events go to - Colonial Revolutionary Wars - Timeline Origins The origins of the Colonial Revolutionary Wars date as far back as 2170 and to the end of Isaac Dahl's governorship of Gliese 581g. When Dahl declared that his dictatorship, forced upon the colony by The People's Republic of Asia, was unjust and should be replaced with fair and free elections for all of Gliese’s citizens, few other human colonies were self-sustaining enough to back his plans. When Gliese was granted its own democratic forum it was widely anticipated that other colonies would be granted this luxury, something that never happened. Forty years later, colonists were still waiting to be given the rights that their immigrant ancestors had held but that they had been denied. Treaty of Indepedence On 5th May, 2210 the governing bodies of the planets Parasone , Tolvax, Eu-Meh, Lloyd and Kara came together and signed a treaty in which each resigned it's membership from the Earth Commonwealth. The document described how eachcolony had no wish to form an alliance separate to that of the Earth Commonwealth but simply wanted to be free to govern it's own fate. Each planet would have a completely different government to the next and would be free to set it's own taxes, trade agreements and labour laws. This treaty was put before the government of Earth and unanimously refused. Not only were the plans refused but the Earth's government saw fit to construct a counter-paper to end the question once and for all. The paragraph which detailed how all 'non-privately owned human occupied land and it's incumbents' technically belonged to the Earth Commonwealth sparked an outrage that rallied the planet Issah to sign the treaty and caused minor riots on Earth Commonwealth buildings around the galaxy. All six planets continued to progress with their plans for independence despite the refusal, something that did not sit well on Earth. The First Battle of Tolvax To try and maintain it's authority over the new colonial powers, Earth began to make increased demands. Higher taxation and increased shipments of resources aimed to cripple any form rebellion before it could begin. These demands had the opposite effect however and soon all contact to Earth was cut off. This tactic prompted an immediate reaction from the Earth Commonwealth and over the next two months a fleet of five colony ships were retro-fitted into troop transports and sent to Tolvax, widely believed to be the political will of the rebellion. Upon arriving in the Tolvax system a month later, the fleet was greeted with the unexpected sight of a blockade already in place. As the Earth ships approached the planet they sent out demands for the opposing ships to identify themselves and were caught completely off-guard when the blockade opened fire, the first group of human space craft ever to carry offensive capabilities. Humanities first space battle was a massacre in which over half a million troops died still in cryo-sleep. Both sides entered the conflict with retro-fitted space craft but only the colonial rebels saw fit to include re-purposed tools as weaponry in their designs. Before The First Battle of Tolvax there were many on Earth who did not care if the colonies were under home rule or not. After the reports beamed around the galaxy of the loss of almost a million lives that attitude quickly changed and Commonwealth nationalism became a major focus. Course of the War The First Battle of Tolvax instantly put Earth's forces on the back foot and gave the rebels a chance to prepare. The humiliation of humanity's greatest military force inspired even more colonists to join the cause and soon the number of worlds in opposition to Earth sprang to thirteen. The state of power in the Colonial Revolutionary Wars appeared to change regularly and dramatically. While Earth still controlled almost three times as many worlds as had signed the Treaty of Independence, the majority of these planets were small developing colonies that relied on the centralised government for supplies and more workers. As such Earth found itself facing a plethora of strong industrial societies with little support of its own. This being said, even with the productive powerhouses of Parasone and Tolvax, the rebels were essentially starting from scratch and without vast stockpiles of plundered resources, high educational standards or real military experience. Much of Earth's visible weaknesses were accentuated in the hopes the rebels would under-estimate their opponents. The wars themselves were more a series of conflicts more than an ongoing feud. Due to the vast distance over which the two sides combated it could be months or even years between a shot being fired. In 2212 the revolutionary powers began distributing propaganda claiming that the Commonwealth was about to give in to their demands and that if they did not, preparations were under way for an offensive campaign to ensure it. This was quickly discovered to be a ruse however. During the entire conflict the colonial revolutionaries didn't launch a single attack on a planet that had not signed the Treaty of Independence. The only time revolutionary soldiers fought to take a planet was when it had previously been conquered by Earth's troops. Phase One (2210-2230) Phase One of the war began in 2212 with Earth's first major counter-offensive, code-named Operation Vengeful Having learned the hard way that they were facing a stronger opponent than initally anticipated and having spent two years building up the necessary technology to fight the enemy in space, Earth began it's counter attack by targeting three major targets (Parasone, Kara, Eu-Meh) with deceptively high amounts of bombardment while landing troops on three minor targets (Lincoln, Libra, Jessie). By drawing attention to the more high profile rebel planets, Earth forces managed to conquer all three enemy targets before any real resistance could be mounted. Phase One of the Colonial Revolutionary Wars saw a constant back and forth in the conflict as Earth would take a world only to lose it later. Phase One saw few space battles due to the basic nature of ship weaponry and more active planetary invasions than any other part in the war. By the end of Phase One (2230) the stats stood at: Earth Commonwealth: 34 Planets (having colonised five more worlds) Over six million soldiers dead. (Seven million including the First Battle of Tolvax) Less than one hundred thousand Commonwealth civilians killed by enemy action. Colonial Revolutionaries: 11 Planets (Two more worlds signed the Treaty of Independence) Just under ten million soldiers dead. Three million Colonial civilians killed by enemy action. Phase Two (2230-2250) Phase Two of the war is so clearly defined because of the founding of the Aries II colony. With humanity more divided than ever and Earth realising that the longer the conflict went on for the more difficult it would be to convince Commonwealth citizens not to rebel, Aries II was chosen for one reason and one reason only: to produce military hardware. Military and engineering experts were put into place to further the colony's productivity and by 2232 it's shipyards were up and running. Phase Two marks the introduction of space warfare on a grand scale as well as the beginning of colonial guerilla fighting. It quickly became obvious that with Aries II mass producing cutting edge weapons that the Revolutionaries would have a tough time keeping up while still using outdated ships retro-fitted for war. It was also apparent that the colonials were not as willing to attack civilian populations as the Commonwealth was. In the eyes of the Commonwealth military, every civilian who sided with the rebels was a traitor and therefore was a legitimate target. It was hoped by many among the revolutionaries that as more worlds became aware of the attacks on civilians, the more worlds would raise up and join them. This began the extreme use of propaganda from both sides of the conflict. By 2246 the Commonwealth had taken six planets from the enemy and occupied land on two more. From this point until the end of Phase Two the war was split into three categories: Space battles (usually ambushes on supply/troop convoys) Trench warfare (which prevented any further gains on either side) Guerilla warfare (Through which the rebels successfully stopped Earth's forces from consolidating for larger strikes and even managed to take a planet back) It was through spreading Earth's armies thin across the galaxy and by recovering enemy technology that the revolutionaries stayed in the war. By the end of Phase Two the stats were: Earth Commonwealth: 42 planets (having colonised three more worlds including Aries II) 11 million soldiers dead. One and a half million civilians killed by enemy actions. Colonial Revolutionaries: 8 planets. Just over twenty four million soldiers dead. Ten million civilians killed by enemy action. Phase Three (2250-2262) The introduction of Phase Three began with the longest stalemate of the war. Having realised that they were gaining little from wasting bullets both sides refrained from firing a single shot for five years. This unofficial ceasefire went on for such a prolonged period of time that many believed the Commonwealth had come to terms with its loses and was willing to once again invest in the future. This proved to be untrue however and after a failed attempt by revolutionaries to overthrow the Governor of Gliese the war began again. The remaining seven years of the war proved to be the most evenly matched of the whole conflict. While at peace the production of ships at Aries II had slowed due to lower demand and the independent planets had taken time to upgrade their technology. While before it had been a case of the revolutionaries throwing more troops at a single battle than the enemy, these battles were well planned and strategically challenging for both sides. By 2261 the revolutionary forces had made a slight gain thanks to newer Earth colonies defecting but over all the Commonwealth military was once again exerting dominance. When the war suddenly ended a year later it came as a shock to all. The revolutionaries had expected to continue fighting until all planets that had signed the Treaty were free of Commonwealth control and Earth's citizens were determined to wipe all traitors from the face of the galaxy. The sudden armistice can be attributed to two different factors. The Fourth Battle of Tolvax Tolvax has been a target for the Commonwealth from the minute war had begun. On three separate occasions invasions had been attempted only to be foiled but in 2262 (in what some commentators referred to as an act of desperation) Earth's military brought in every battalion it could spare from around the galaxy and aimed them at the rebels' political stronghold. With an armada of one hundred and twenty three space craft (the biggest ever assembled at the time) and an army numbering almost six million troops, Tolvax was subjected to a siege which would last only a week. The Fourth Battle of Tolvax is remarkable because it showed a huge departure from the military tactics used in the rest of the Wars. Rather than bombing the enemy into submission as was usual for the Commonwealth, troops moved through on ground level and wiped out enemy resistance while protecting planetary infrastructure as much as possible. For a reason known only to them, the Commonwealth government had need of the planet's productive capability. With nowhere to hide the government of Tolvax fell and the colonials took a crippling blow. The 581g Agreement Just a month after the sacking of Tolvax the Commonwealth government hosted a peace summit in orbit of Gliese 581g. The planets symbolism as a planet that elected to stay as neutral as possible while also being the first colony to attempt independence made it a perfect choice. The talks were chaired by famous explorer, Commonwealth Admiral and peace advocate Jason Clarke. Huge concessions were made by both sides in order to establish a lasting peace but the two major points of the 581g Agreement were: Three planets only would be granted independence from the Earth Commonwealth. These planets were the industrial planet Parasone, and the two farming worlds of Washington and Vici. The three planets are allowed to govern themselves in every way but are not allowed to form any kind of military union. All citizens and combatants of the Colonial Revolutionary planets must be blameless and given a chance to resettle. All who wish to live on independent worlds have the right to do so but the Earth Commonwealth must also make it possible to accommodate this influx of people. All colonies that have been established for fifty years or more must be seen as self-sufficent enough to hold free and fair elections to appoint it's own governor. Aftermath At the time it was not known quite why the Commonwealth acted in the rash manner that it did. It was not until almost half a century later that the reason for their desperation (And the Colonial acceptance of such harsh terms) were discovered. -See here for spoilers The end of the wars brought around an era of peace for humanity that allowed it to flourish. Earth prospered more than ever from the new resources available and it appeared that mankind would finally put bloodshed behind it in favour of a better future. After The 581 Agreement the populations of Parasone, Washington and Vici more than trebled as Independents flooded to their new societies. Perhaps ironically the majority of Revolutionary veterans decided to remain within the Commonwealth. With so many planets now under it's control the Earth Commonwealth found itself unable to successfully police them all. A government taskforce was set up, charged with travelling around colonised worlds to settle disputes and investigate crimes. The Constables were stretched thin and few in numbers but held significant authority in the Commonwealth. On more developed worlds private security firms such as Arc Company were given licence to govern the justice of frontier colonies, most of which were populated by war veterans. This was also true for the colonisation of new planets. More and more worlds were being settled by specialised agencies such as Infrastar Interstellar Corporation By the end of the conflict the final stats were: Earth Commonwealth 56 Planets. 16 million soldiers dead. 2 million civilians killed by enemy action. Colonial Revolutionaries/Indepedent Planets 3 Planets. 31 million soldiers dead 16 million civilians killed by enemy action.